[96]. It is interesting to hear that Russian school text-books enumerate Korea and Manchuria among the Russian spheres of influence.—A letter from Tōsuisei, dated St. Petersburg, February 13, 1900, in the Kokumin, April 1, 1900.
[97]. It is remarkable how little the spirit of Japan’s policy, which the writer has attempted to express in this sentence, is understood among the people here. A vast majority of people, not excluding recognized writers and speakers on the East, seem to ascribe to Japan certain territorial designs, particularly in Korea. It is not remembered that Japan was the first country to recognize the independence of Korea, the cause of which also cost Japan a war with China. The present war with Russia is waged largely on the same issue, for it is to Japan’s vital interest to keep Korea independent. From this it hardly follows that Japan should occupy Korea in order not to allow her to fall into the hands of another Power. If Korea is really unable to stand on her feet, the solution of the difficulty does not, in Japan’s view, consist in possessing her, but in making her independence real by developing her resources and reorganizing and strengthening her national institutions. It is in this work that Japan’s assistance was offered and accepted. It would be as difficult for any impartial student not to see the need of such assistance as to confuse it with annexation. It would, however, be entirely legitimate to regard the task as extremely difficult and dangerously prone to abuse. Further, see pp. [366] ff., below.
[98]. Russian exports for 1900–2 are classified as follows (1000 rubles as unit):—
| Food-stuffs | Raw material | Animals | Manufactures | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 381,174 | 269,806 | 17,902 | 19,553 | 688,435 |
| 1901 | 430,955 | 256,697 | 20,224 | 21,939 | 729,815 |
| 1902 | 526,189 | 258,267 | 21,558 | 19,263 | 825,277 |
It is seen that the exportation of food-stuffs was the largest in value and increasing, while that of manufactured articles was the smallest (2.5 per cent.) and, to say the least, stationary. Imports were as follows:—
| Food-stuffs | Raw material | Animals | Manufactures | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 79,844 | 307,402 | 1,136 | 183,682 | 572,064 |
| 1901 | 84,349 | 288,107 | 1,495 | 158,993 | 532,944 |
| 1902 | 81,409 | 295,483 | 1,403 | 148,800 | 527,095 |
The importation of manufactures decreased, but also that of raw material did not increase, while, as shown above, the exportation of manufactures was slight and stationary. Figures have been taken from the Tsūshō Isan for November 25, 1903, which drew them from Russian official sources.
It is interesting to note the unfavorable conditions of the foreign trade of Russia’s ally, France, in U. S. Consul Atwell’s report in the daily Consular Reports for February 24, 1904 (No. 1884), who quotes from Georges Blondel.
[99]. See the Supplementary Note to this chapter on pages 61–64.
[100]. Documents of that time clearly indicate that the discovery of gold in California and the westward expansion of the American nation, as well as the growing prospects of the China trade and the increasing application of steam in navigation, were the motives which prompted the United States Government to open negotiations with Japan in 1853.